A Day Of Faces

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

The opening here is simultaneously a reminder of just how scary Cal and Kay can be, as well as showing how you always have a choice about how to act. Cal wields unimaginable power, and Kay is a strong and dangerous person, physically. But she’s not defined by what she is: she’s defined by what she chooses to do. Cal’s not quite as good at that.

This is Kay growing into her leadership position. Ezekiel is a horrid person. Revenge is easy. It even makes sense – one less enemy to worry about. But it sends a certain kind of message, and builds a certain kind of world, and that’s not what Kay’s about. (more…)

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

A structural oddity of A Day of Faces is that there’s rarely an evident antagonist, let alone an obvious Bad Guy. Holt fulfils that role for a while, but otherwise there’s only a general sense of insurmountable, conspiratorial forces. It’s rare for Kay & co to actually run up against them.

On the one hand, this runs into the Lord of the Rings ‘issue’ of there being no meaty Big Bad. Hence why the movies kept adding in Hero Orcs that the audience could properly dislike, while Sauron continued to be a vague background threat. (more…)

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

This is the chapter in which Furey finally takes the gloves off. She’s been a controlled, simmering background player for the most part, with only occasional, brief moments of actual action – most notably at the end of Arc 3 on Hong Kong’s Peak.

‘Limbic system’, while still from Kay’s perspective, is essentially a Furey chapter. This is where she shows her quality, and demonstrates why she’s good to have along. That we see the action from the point of view of two people who are from a very different world (literally and figuratively, I suppose) makes it all the more entertaining, I hope – Kay’s experience of watching Furey at work is much like ours. (more…)

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

This chapter marks the real start of a globe-trotting series of chapters. ‘Neuron’ and ‘Imagination’ were more of a continuation on from the events in Hong Kong, while ‘Catalyst’ takes us to a new place, being the Locque equivalent to India. (more…)

• Read A Day of Faces for free here.
• Read this specific chapter here.
• Read all the writing notes here.

I’ve rather let these writing diaries slip of late, due to a rather intense month (entirely unrelated to ADoF). Let’s do some catching up.

Chapter 43, ‘Interlude #7’, concludes the mini-Cal/Holt sub-plot. This kicked off at the very end of Arc 2, and rumbled through Arc 3 in the interludes. At last, here in Arc 4, that storyline meets its ending. (more…)